“If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” –Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper, Chop Suey, 1929. Christies, NY
I love the quote above by Edward Hopper because it makes me think of the chilling silence that defines many of his greatest paintings. In this work especially, the room seems to be caught in a moment of listless quiet, each character confined to their own thoughts. Through this silence, Hopper achieves a piercing sense of isolation and loneliness that speaks volumes about the human condition.
The woman facing the viewer appears wistful and isolated, her empty stare distancing her from the woman sitting across the table. This sense of distance is heightened by Hopper’s use of light as an almost theatrical spotlight, contributing an unsettling sense of silence and solitude to the painting. Moreover, the couple in the background is similarly caught in a moment of disconnect, avoiding eye contact and engulfed in dark blue shadows. These cold swaths of blue contrast with the warm hues that pour into the foreground, effectively dividing the composition and isolating the tables from one other. Moreover, the warmth of the foreground invites the viewer into the otherwise austere and moody composition.
Something interesting I noticed while studying this painting was the absence of food — not only in this work but in all of Hopper’s restaurant paintings. After doing some research I found a piece by the art historian Judith A. Barter that explains, “There is never anything to eat on Hopper’s tables. Famously uninterested in food, Hopper and his wife often made dinner from canned ingredients. What he found important were the spaces where eating and drinking took place.” I want to take this idea further, and suggest Hopper was not only uninterested in the food, but also the people who filled his paintings. He sought to capture the essence of loneliness, but took little interest in the personal feelings of his subjects (who were often anonymous). In other words, Hopper sought to create an atmosphere of loneliness, rather than simply depicting lonely people.